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Thursday, December 5, 2013

Blog tour: Redemption: The Warrior Book 4 by Rebecca Royce

I'm a fan of Rebecca Royce's YA urban fantasy series, The Warriors, so whenever a new book is published and a tour is planned, I make sure to sign up. Reader Girls is today's stop on the Redemption Blog Tour hosted by Paranormal Cravings. Redemption is the fourth book in this engrossing series. We have our review. there is an excerpt to enjoy, and there is a tour-wide giveaway to enter.

Rachel Clancy made a decision to erase herself from the lives of her friends and family. She did this, she believes, to free herself up to make some hard decisions. Only to realize out she was manipulated by a master into doing just what he wanted….

Now, she is alone with no one to turn to for help.

But fate isn't done with Rachel. When she is thrust back into the path of her former people—who have no idea who she is—she will find that life gives second chances. Will she gain redemption? Or pay the price forced for her past mistakes?

Excerpt

“I hate the nickname you’ve given me.”

Rolling over, I elbowed Jason hard in the chest. He grunted, more for show than actual pain, I suspected, and laughed. If my parents came home and found us lying in my bed together, there would be hell to pay. We only cuddled, but they wouldn’t care. All they would see was me, their fifteen-year-old daughter, Rachel, with her boyfriend, sprawled out together on my bed in my bedroom, a place they’d banned us from being alone in months ago.

I snapped my gum in my mouth and reread the text my best friend Kayla had sent me. She wanted to go to some club, wanted me to come out with her. If I went, it would have to be secretive. I’d never get permission to go, and Jason would freak out if I let him in on the plan. Sometimes he got really, really possessive. I hated when he did.

Most of the time.

“Why do you hate your nickname? Pixie-girl suits you.”

“Blah.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m way too old for fairy tales. I prefer to live in the here and now. The real world. Come up with something else.”

“I’ll call you whatever I want. End of story.”

I stood and made my way over to the window.

Why do I let him come into my bedroom if I’m just going to spend the entire time he’s here worrying about getting caught?

Apparently, he’d hadn’t finished talking. “Rachel, there’s lots of real things in the world. Things existing outside of your definition. Even some things found in fairy tales. Don’t be so closed-minded. I don’t like it.”

Jason’s voice had gotten low and sharp. I knew the tone well. Every once in a while, my sweet, gorgeous, blond, horribly popular boyfriend would seem like a different person. Where had the Jason I loved gone? Every once in a while he seemed like someone entirely different. I shivered and rubbed my arms. I might like to pretend I had all the answers to life’s problems, but deep in my heart I knew I still had a lot to learn before I handled the kind of baggage Jason’s intensity spoke toward. Or so my mother said.

“Are you listening to me?” He banged on the wall like his action might make me answer him faster.

What brought on these episodes? I mean, really, how much secret history did he have to hide to justify his darkness? He’d been born the upper-middle-class son of a prominent research physician. Jason’s troubles seemed pretty null and void to me. My family wouldn’t end up on some reality show for the deprived, either. My father, a science teacher with his summers off, who liked NASCAR, and my mom, an investment banker, managed to provide me with everything I needed or wanted. Unless something really awful happened behind closed doors, neither Jason nor I had much leg to stand on when it came to “issues” Hence, why I had such a hard time understanding Jason’s dark, spooky side. . .

As a fan of The Warrior series, I would love to see Rachel's story either on the big screen or made into a series. Author Rebecca Royce writes with such a realistic sense of dialogue and setting, I can easily visualize everything going on in Rachel Clancy's life. In book four, Redemption, the Armageddon of the previous books hasn't happened yet. Rachel returns to her life the way it used to be when life was normal, she had two living parents, and Jason was her boyfriend. A normal relationship with a guy without drama or danger. But wait, Jason is an alpha, isn't he? A wolf? Hmm, and he has these weird mood swings. What is really going on?

The first three books employed a linear style of storytelling and the author changes it up a bit here. Opening in the past made me go "huh?" but since I trust the author and love her series, I plowed right in. Then I understood. Tricky and smart. By using flasbacks, Rachel's story is fleshed out--but is it? From the past to the present, Redemption plays with the mind.

All I can say is pick up a copy of Redemption and sit back for a head trip. The time changes can play with one's perception which is doubly intense as the story twists and turns taking the reader to surprising places and situations. Remembering the past can change a person's perception when fighting for a chance at returning to something one once had before the supernatural creatures and unhinged scientists began taking over the world. Rachel has to face some heavy decisions, but then this is The Warrior series and I wouldn't expect it any other way.

Rating: 4

Cover comment:

Similar to the other covers in the series.

Book source:

I received a promotional copy in return for my honest review during a blog tour.

About the Author As a teenager, I would hide in my room to read my favorite romance novels when I was supposed to be doing my homework. I hope, these days, that my parents think it was worth it.

I am the mother of three adorable boys and I am fortunate to be married to my best friend. We’ve just moved from New Jersey to Texas where I am learning to love Barbecue!

I am in love with science fiction, fantasy and the paranormal and try to use all these elements in my writing. I've been told I'm a little bloodthirsty so I hope that when you read my work you'll enjoy the action-packed ride that always ends in romance. I love to write series because I love to see characters develop over time and it always makes me happy to see my favorite characters make guest appearances in other books. In my world anything is possible, anything can happen, and you should suspect that it will.